Friday, June 17, 2011

When good is near you, when you have life in yourself, it is not by any known or accustomed way; you shall not discern the foot-prints of any other; you shall not see the face of man; you shall not hear any name;—— the way, the thought, the good, shall be wholly strange and new. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Can you remember a moment in your life when you had life in yourself and it was wholly strange and new? Can you remember the moment when you stopped walking a path of someone else, and started cutting your own?

Write about that moment. And if you haven’t experienced it yet, let the miracle play out in your mind’s eye and write about that moment in your future.

(Author: Bridget Pilloud)
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I don't think this happened in a single moment for me. For me, the "wholly strange and new" moment has taken years.

When my son arrived, I knew I would spend my life making his world better. When my daughter arrived, I remembered that purpose. But neither time did I have any idea how I was going to do that.

When I realized I wanted to spend the rest of my life writing and sharing stories, I felt a huge sense of relief at finally knowing who I was. But the goal still seemed hopelessly out of reach and unrealistic.

When I left the Army, I knew a phase of my life had ended and another needed to begin. But it still seemed hopelessly unrealistic for writing to be the major component of that new life.

When I finished my first book, and my second, and third, and fourth, I felt a rush of accomplishment. But still the dream seemed no more realistic or responsible.

When I completed my Discovery! training, I knew I had to figure out how to live my dream. But I still had no idea how to get there without putting my family's future at risk.

It wasn't until I heard Dan Miller explain a simple truth--that we are more likely to make real money by doing what we are passionate about than by spending five days a week at a secure job that doesn't engage us--that I realized my dream wasn't just something to do in my off time. It wasn't until then that I stopped worrying about whether my dream was realistic and started working to make it real. I suppose if I have to pick a single moment, that was it. But that would never have happened without all the years that came before.

I'm not there yet. But every day it comes a day closer. Every day is wholly strange and new in some way.

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About Me

Writer. Onetime soldier. Student. Unapologetic nerd. People fascinate me: we are capable of unforgivable cruelty and unimpeachable selflessness, sometimes at the same time. And for the same reasons. Is there anything more amazing?